HELPFULL ADVICE ON CHOOSING  THE CORRECT POLE.

When selecting your new pole a few basic guidelines should always be followed. Below we have listed some important points which you should consider beforemaking your purchase.

PRICE- Always have a budget and try to stick to it. Do not just look at the headline price of a pole, check to see what spares package it comes with as you may need more kits which will increase the price you will need to pay.

MAKE OF POLE- This is always a difficult decision to make as everyone has a view on which makes are better than others, I will not try and persuade you one way or the other but what I will say is  this. Always buy a pole with a good brand name on it for example Daiwa, Maver, Garbolino. The reason for this is warranty and spares back up. Major companies invest a lot in after sales service and spares. You will usually get about 5 years spares back up from most major companies so I beleive it is worth paying slightly more for this service. Please beware of taking advice from internet forums, while I am not saying ignore it, in my experience most of what you read is either wrong or posted by people who have an interest in promoting a particular pole, like sponsered anglers or employees of certain companies who hide behind made up names.

TYPE OF POLE- Most poles are now calssed as 'All Round' models and they come with a variety of spare top kits to suit river and commercial fishing. Some companies do however make stronger poles which are designed for really big fish, however these tend to be heavier so choose what you need carefully.

TOP KITS- For several years now most companies offer'Match' and 'Power kits' A match kit is usually a telescopic top 2 with a take apart no3 section. A power kit tends to be a 2 piece take apart kit which is the same length as a match kit but is stronger with a larger bore suited to heavier elastics. Some manufacturers now offer bespoke Puller kits which may be of interest to you if you would rather have these than Pulla Bungs. It is important to note it is better to use genuine top kits than 'Universal' as these may not always fit properly and could invalidate your warranty.

LENGTH OF POLE- It is true to say that you should aim to get the longest pole you can afford, however a 16m pole for £300 will not be useable at 16m. If you cannot afford about £600 then you are better buying a 14.5m package which will be much better. It is also worth asking youself if you will ever need 16m as lots of people do not.

PACKAGE- Try and buy a pole which has a spares package which suits what you need, do not buy a pole which comes with all Power kits if you need it for river fishing. Please note that sometimes we can alter packages from standard to suit what you need.

SPARES PRICES- Although this doesn't seem very important when you buy your pole it is worth asking about the price of spare top kits, and sections as you may need extra no 4 sections for example if you fish deeper water and the prices can vary enormously from different companies.

WARRANTY- This varies from company to company. Most which we deal with allow us to decide wether any breakages are warranty or not. This is not the case with all and some will require the section to be returned to them for inspection. Remember that if you buy a pole mail order and it breaks it is usually up to you to return the section at your cost to the retailer in order to make a claim.

SPECIAL OFFERS- Sometimes we will sell last years poles at reduced prices and it is possible to save money this way. As long as you are happy not having the very latest product this can be a good choice,  you will still get a warranty and spares should be no problem either.

SECOND HAND- Beware second hand poles unless you know the seller and you are confident in checking for damage to sections. Also check wether spares are still available and the cost. A second hand top flight pole for a few hundred pounds will seem a bargain until you break a section and realise that it will cost as much to replace as you paid for the pole.

INSURANCE- I would always advise getting a pole insured. As this is a very specialised part of the insurance business I would advise contacting a broker or someone who can sell you the correct policy for your needs, wether it be for theft or damage.

I hope the above has been usefull information for you. At Benwick sports we have been selling poles for over 25 years so it is always worth contacting us and we will try to give the best advice we can. Andy Crane